My Name is Paul H Cosentino. I started this Blog in 2011 because of what I believe to be wrongdoings in town government. This Blog is to keep the citizens of Templeton informed. It is also for the citizens of Templeton to post their comments and concerns.

Paul working for you.

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Uxbridge voters face $3M override for schools

Uxbridge voters face $3M override for schools

UXBRIDGE – Voters will face a $2.98 million, five-year Proposition 2½
override for school operations at May town meeting and at the ballot,
Superintendent of Schools Kevin M. Carney told selectmen Monday.

Also,
Mr. Carney, through Selectman James Hogan, relayed the Uxbridge School
Building Study Group's preliminary recommendation that the 80-year-old
McCloskey Middle School be closed at least temporarily, consolidating
students across three campuses instead of the current four.

Mr. Carney told selectmen the School Department was facing a $711,000
budget gap for the coming year, compared to the town manager's
recommended budget of $21.4 million. If the override passes, $623,000 in
additional revenue, along with additional possible budget cuts, would
bridge that gap next year.

Among the potential cuts he cited were raising class sizes and cutting athletics and activities from the general fund.

Mr.
Carney outlined in a statement that if the tax override passes, it
could prevent the elimination of high school athletics from the budget;
the loss of two reading specialists, one math specialist, one Grade 4
teacher, two half-time assistant principals (newly proposed positions),
and the reduction of two full-time school secretaries' jobs to half-time
positions. It would also prevent moving the program for 18- to
22-year-old students back into the high school.

Further, access to
technology would reach all classrooms in the district, with individual
student access to technology devices in Grades 4 to 8. The opportunity
for Spanish instruction to begin by Grade 7 is also being considered as
the School Committee debates priorities.

If the override fails,
the six positions mentioned, athletics and activities could be cut from
the budget, unless the School Committee considers other options that
include reducing other elementary and middle school teachers. Mr. Carney
said those cuts would result in raising class sizes to 25 to 29
students in some grades, and cutting the math coordinator position and
professional development.

"Passing this override will protect over $700,000 in staffing and program cuts," Mr. Carney told selectmen.

The
proposed override would add $113.45 annually to the property tax bill
for the average single-family home in Uxbridge, valued at $290,907.

The School Building Study Group recommended shuttering the McCloskey
Middle School until long-range plans for the building could be developed
to save more than $2.6 million over five to 10 years for repairs to
meet safe, educationally-appropriate standards.

A feasibility study alone for the McCloskey building would cost $750,000, according to the committee's report.

Whitin
Elementary School and Taft Early Learning Center also need new roofs
and window and HVAC system updates, but the situation isn't as extreme
as at McCloskey. Mr. Carney said $565,000 could be saved by closing the
middle school building.

None of the school district's four buildings is at capacity, according to Mr. Carney.

"Anytime you kick a can down the road," Mr. Carney said, "it becomes an issue that you can't ignore anymore."

He said since fiscal 2010 the average annual school budget increase has been 1.76 percent.

Meanwhile,
special education costs have increased 20 percent in the past five
years, health insurance costs have gone up an average of 10 percent and
salary costs have risen an average of 3.5 percent during those five
years.

The School Committee's final vote on details of the
proposed override will take place at its meeting March 21, after it
receives guidance from the state Department of Revenue.